


What You Want

by narnianvalkyrieofberk



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Pining, stolen jackets
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-25
Updated: 2017-07-02
Packaged: 2018-11-06 14:13:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,987
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11037846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/narnianvalkyrieofberk/pseuds/narnianvalkyrieofberk
Summary: It all started when apparent failure to steal Lance's heart leads Keith to steal his hoodie instead.





	1. Nobody Gets What They Want

**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by fanart by @avocatdelapoursuite on tumblr

Keith snuggled Lance’s hoodie so close that when he closed his eyes it really seemed like Lance was there, albeit squishier than Hunk due to his torso being a pillow. Keith buried his face in the hoodie and took a deep breath. Despite having been in space for months now Lance, and by extension his hoodie, still smelled of tropical beach sand and salty sea. 

Keith’s thoughts were interrupted by Lance shouting down the hall while searching for his missing hoodie. Apparently he wanted it back. “Well,” Keith murmured a bit bitterly to himself while snuggling his Lance pillow closer, “nobody ever gets what they want anyway.” Lance wanted his hoodie back; Keith wanted Lance to notice him. 

Keith had tried to ignore it; he’d tried to ignore the jealous pang in his chest whenever Lance flirted with a cute alien. But now, every time he saw Lance’s cheesy grin or a faint blush on an alien’s cheeks as Lance cracked a terrible pick up line, well… Keith wished that Lance was making that cheesy grin at him. He wished he could be the one to laugh at Lance’s terrible pick up line and then joke that he was thinking of dating Lance but the line ruined it. But Lance never seemed to notice. 

Keith heard Lance storm right past his door on the hunt for the missing hoodie and frowned. Lance hadn’t even thought to check with Keith? Lance was always quick to blame Keith when things went wrong, and yet he somehow managed to not even notice Keith the one time it actually was his fault. Keith tightened his grip around Lance’s imaginary torso. Why did Lance have to be like this? Why couldn’t he notice Keith? Why did it seem like all they did was fight? 

Okay, Keith had to admit, that was kind of his fault. At first, it had been fights evenly started by either one of them. They were apparently rivals, after all. But as time had gone on… And as Keith had found he loved staring at the icy determination in Lance’s eyes when he argued, the smirkish curl that only found its way to Lance’s lips when he was flirting or thought he had one an argument, all of Lance’s stupid face… Keith had started picking fights more often just to see those. 

But now Keith longed for more. He wanted Lance’s attention in a different way. Keith longed to see Lance’s eyes filled with that pure joy he got when he found something he loved. He wanted to see Lance smile at him with that bright grin he reserved only for those who dignified his flirting with a kind response. And above all else, Keith wanted to feel Lance’s soft lips on his own. He wanted to be held in Lance’s arms in a way that meant more than just “we’re a good team” or “you’re injured; let me help you.” 

Suddenly, Hunk burst into the room and slammed the door shut behind himself while Keith was startled and rushed shove Lance’s hoodie under his mattress. “Dude, I’m sorry to burst in but—“ Hunk stopped as he noticed Keith sitting there with his hand starting to shove Lance’s hoodie under the mattress. His expression quickly changed from one of worry about whatever he was running from to one of pure fanboyish excitement.

Before Keith could respond he could hear Coran from down the hall. “Who changed the locks on the kitchen cupboards!? I was going to make some nice dinner tonight, and now I can’t reach the ingredients!”

“If you don’t say anything about the hoodie; I won’t say anything about the locks.”

Hunk paused a moment, but another shout from Coran about his plans for that night’s dinner prompted him to nod and quickly say, “ I won’t tell Lance.”

Keith still shoved the hoodie the rest of the way under his mattress. Even without Hunk telling Lance about the hoodie, Keith still felt awkward about someone knowing what he was doing with it. Hunk sat on the bed next to Keith. “So are you going to tell him?” 

“Nah, I’ll just sneak his hoodie back in his room some time when he’s not looking. If he knows I took it, he’ll assume I did something to it.”

“I meant are you going to tell him that you like him?”

Keith’s breath hitched a little. He softly shook his head in defeat. “He’s so… loud, and open, and he says what’s on his mind… so…”

“… So you think that if he had any interest in you, he’d already have said something?”

“Yeah.”

Hunk thought for a moment before responding. “I know he flirts a lot, but it could be different for him flirting with somebody new versus trying to tell a friend that he likes them. I think you could give it a shot.”

Keith shook his head again. He knew he was doomed to never get what he wanted. Who he wanted didn’t want him. Hunk did his best to console Keith, but eventually he had to leave so he could make edible dinner for everyone. Keith mulled over some things in his mind and then made a decision. He grabbed the hoodie out from under his bed. 

Lance was searching the lion hangar when Keith found him. Keith saw his brow furrow as soon as his eyes set on the hoodie in Keith’s hand.

“Here, you left this stupid thing in the hall near my room,” a total lie. It had been hanging on a rack just outside the pool, but Keith wasn’t going to tell him that.

“What’d you do to it?”

“Nothing, now just take it,” Keith spat as he tossed the hoodie to Lance. 

Lance indignantly put his hoodie back on and glared at Keith. “How do I know you didn’t take it?”

Keith’s heartrate just about doubled at that question. What if Lance figured out his feelings? What if Lance finally confirmed they weren’t mutual? What if he laughed in Keith’s face? You wouldn’t have been able to tell that all those thoughts were racing through Keith’s mind as he bluntly stated, “Why would I take your stupid hoodie?”

Lance stepped closer to Keith, “Oh, I don’t know—“ there was a mildly accusatory tone to Lance’s voice, and Keith’s heart just about jumped out of his chest with the combination of the possibility of Lance knowing and rejecting Keith’s feelings and the close proximity to Keith that Lance was now in. Lance rested his hands on Keith’s shoulders and Keith tried to not shiver with excitement. “Maybe for the same reason I’d take yours!” Lance whooped as he quickly yanked Keith’s jacket off of his shoulders and ran.

Keith blinked for a second in confusion. “Wait, wha—LANCE GET BACK HERE WITH MY JACKET! LANCE!? LANCE!!!!”


	2. Just Say What You Want

“Maybe for the same reason I’d take yours!? What was I thinking!?” Hunk snickered as Lance groaned and buried his face in the red jacked bundled up in his arms. 

Hunk patted his friend on the shoulder. “I’d say you were thinking ‘Gee, that sounds like a good pick up line,’ and now you’re probably thinking, ‘Gee, that was the worst pick up line I’ve ever come up with.’”

“Thank you so much for that reassurance,” Lance grumbled. 

Hunk laughed. “If it’s any consolation, that’s not your worst pick up line ever. That award still goes to ‘Is your name Hunk? Because you sure are one!’”

“I’ll have you know, you blushed at that!”

“Was that before or after I died laughing? And anyways, at least now you know things could have gone worse with Keith.” Hunk sighed a little as he watched Lance continue to bury his face in the red paladin’s jacket. “So does it smell like him? Also, what does Keith even smell like?”

“Yes, and he smells like motor oil and sweat. It’s disgusting.”

“And yet you keep sniffing his jacket like it’s the most fragrant cologne you’ve ever smelled.” Hunk cracked up as he watched his friend turn bright red and groan. Honestly, Hunk really wanted to help Lance and Keith end up together. But he knew he couldn’t force anything and these two were the most stubborn people Hunk had ever met. 

As Hunk resumed preparing dinner, he started thinking about where Keith and Lance and started and how he might help them get to where they wanted to be. Unfortunately, Hunk only knew the origins for one side of these feelings. He hadn’t known Keith very well at the Garrison, though not for lack of trying. The two of them just never got the chance to spend much time around each other. Keith and Hunk had rarely shared classes since Hunk was an engineer and Keith was a pilot. Honestly, it was pure luck that Lance and Hunk had ended up being roommates and becoming friends. But they had, and Hunk had watched Lance’s crush on Keith grow.

Hunk remembered the day after their first classes. He remembered sitting there listening to Lance rant for hours on end about “Stupid Keith Kogane and his stupid mullet” and thinking the whole time, “Wow, you sure talk about him a lot for someone you can’t stand. Also, you’re turning like twenty different shades of red that look more flustered than frustrated.”

Hunk mulled it all over in his head. He kinda wanted to just tell them both what they thought of each other, but he knew that wasn’t his place. The best he could do was try and give them both the confidence they needed to confess their feelings on their own. “Have you ever considered telling Keith how you feel?”

Hunk watched Lance’s face go several shades of red darker before the tomato-faced boy finally responded. “No… I… He… We’re rivals, Hunk. If I told him what I really think of him… No.” 

Hunk bit his lip and considered how to respond. “You feel that way even though the two of you are rivals. Maybe he does too.” Lance shook his head. Hunk sighed. His best friend was great at making other people self-confident, but he believed in himself about as much as Hunk believed in Coran’s cooking skills. 

Speaking of Coran, there was suddenly a sound at the other side of the kitchen and Hunk saw Coran trying to help with the soup. “Coran, I love you, but if you touch my soup you will lose a finger.” Coran glared before sulking off mumbling about how he was a very good cook and could help a lot thank-you-very-much.

Hunk sighed and turned back to continue his conversation with Lance, but found that the blue paladin had disappeared and taken the prized stolen jacket with him. “Those two are going to be the death of me…” Hunk muttered to himself.

That night at dinner, the paladins sat in the same order as usual, meaning Lance and Keith were right next to each other. Hunk smiled a little, hoping they would talk to each other about their feelings. Unfortunately, both seemed more interested in arguing about whether or not Lance should give Keith back his jacket. 

“Give it back, Lance!”

“Dude, I don’t even have it on me right now.”

“It’s probably hidden under his pillow. That’s where he used to hide his candy.” Hunk mentioned. 

“Hunk, you stool pigeon!” Lance yelped as Keith climbed over the table like a barbarian and dashed off to Lance’s room. Hunk hoped for a split second that Lance would be a civilized human being and go around the table, but his hopes were in vain and a good bit of his delicious food goo and balmeran roots soup was splashed all over the Alteans and the other paladins. 

“Those two will be the death of me…” Hunk mumbled.

He was pretty sure he heard Allura mutter, “Not if I’m the death of them first.”


End file.
